The
Parsha, the Process and the Promised Land
Parashat
Lech Lecha
By
Michael Freund
(1) The First Jewish Settler
After receiving G-d’s command, Abram and Sarai, his wife, pack their
belongings and head off to the Holy Land. Abram goes to Elon Moreh, near
Shechem (Nablus), thereby becoming the first Jewish settler in history
(fortunately, the United Nations did not yet exist at the time). G-d appears to
him there and promises that "To your offspring will I give this land (Gen
12:7; George W. Bush – please take note!)". Abram travels further south
until he reaches Beit-El, where he pitches his tent and builds an altar to G-d.
The Question:
Why does G-d appear to Abram at Elon Moreh to tell him that the Land
will be given to his offspring?
The Answer:
Rashi says that when Abram arrived at Elon Moreh, the Canaanites were in
the process of seizing control over the Land of Israel from the descendants of
Shem, Noah's son. Thus, G-d wanted to reassure Abram that despite the political
turmoil around him, and the Canaanites' victories, the Land would one day
belong to his descendants, the Jewish people (who, through Abram, can trace
their lineage back to Shem as well). Thus, He appeared to Abram at Elon Moreh
and told him that the Land would belong to his offspring.
The Lesson:
Over the past decade, the Palestinian Arabs have gained a significant
foothold in the Land of Israel. Thanks to the failed Oslo accords, large tracts
of land were turned over to the control of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian
Authority (PA), resulting in the current campaign of terror and violence
directed against the Jewish state. This past year some 200 innocent Israelis
were murdered and scores more maimed by Palestinian terrorists based in
PA-controlled areas. Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon are again carrying
out cross-border attacks against Israeli soldiers in northern Israel, raising
the possibility of the outbreak of a regional war. Just like our patriarch
Abraham, we look at the events around us in Israel, and we start to wonder:
what about the promise of return? Have the Jewish people survived 2000 years of
exile and persecution, Holocaust and pogroms, only to return to their Land and
then lose it to a gang of terrorist thugs? Were all the Jewish tears and Jewish
blood that were spilled over the past five decades in vain?
In Abraham's time, it was the Canaanites who seemed unstoppable, in our day it
is the Palestinians. Yet that is precisely why G-d's appearance to Abram at Elon
Moreh is so pertinent. Even though the Canaanites were riding to victory, G-d
was quick to reassure Abram that their ascendance was only temporary, telling
him that, "To your offspring will I give this Land". That
reassurance, that encouragement, still speaks to us today, because it is we who
are Abraham's offspring and it is we to whom the promise has been made. The
Palestinians may very well have succeeded, for now, in grabbing some land and
winning some diplomatic battles, but ultimately, it is G-d's promise that will
prevail.
(2) Standing Up to a Superpower
Later in the Parsha, Abram and his nephew Lot part ways after a feud
between their herdsmen. Abram moved to Hebron, where he lived in the plains of Mamre,
while Lot moved to Sodom. Then, in the first 12 verses of Chapter 14, the Torah
describes the outbreak of the War of the Kings, in which 4 powerful kings
fought against 5 vassal kings in what was no doubt the ancient equivalent of a
world war. The 4 kings were victorious and they captured Sodom and took all its
wealth. They also captured Lot and took him hostage. When Abram heard that Lot
had been captured, he raised a small army of 318 men who were his disciples and
then attacked the kings, despite their having a force far greater in size than
his. Abram prevailed in the battle and freed Lot. The Torah tells us, "And
he [Abram] and his servants deployed against them at night and struck them; he
pursued them as far as Hobah, which is to the north of Damascus. And he brought
back all the possessions; he also brought back his kinsman, Lot, with his
possessions, as well as the women and the people (Gen. 14:15-16)."
The Question:
Why does the Torah devote a dozen verses to the account of the War of
the Kings?
The Answer:
The Sforno (Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno of Italy, 1470-1550) says that the
Torah "is telling us how great these five kings were and how powerful were
the four kings who defeated them. Now we can know (judge) the great might of
Abram and his military skill, as well as the great kindness shown to his
relative (Lot), by his willingness to sacrifice himself to overcome them (the
four kings) so as to save his nephew and his possessions from them, wresting
the prey from their jaws and achieving even more than he had hoped for, thanks
to the mercy of G-d" (translation courtesy of the Artscroll Sforno, by
Rabbi Raphael Pelcovitz). Thus, according to the Sforno, the Torah wanted to
give us a better appreciation for Abram's courage and heroism in coming to the
assistance of his nephew Lot, hence it provided us with the details of the War
of the Kings.
The Lesson:
Over the course of the past year, Israeli forces made limited incursions
into Palestinian-controlled territory throughout Judea and Samaria to hit back
at Palestinian terrorists and thwart future attacks. Defense Minister Benjamin
Ben-Eliezer said that intelligence warnings about impending attacks were at an
all-time high, so it was necessary to send in the army to prevent future loss
of life. Despite Israel's purely justified actions against terrorism, the United
States government came down hard on Israel, with the State Department issuing
a sharply worded demand that Israeli forces withdraw immediately and not
return. So, Israel's leaders appear to face a dilemma -- to protect Israel's citizens
by leaving the troops in place or to risk angering the United States by
refusing to do so. In reality, however, there is no dilemma. Protecting the
lives of innocent Jews is far more important than making the State Department
happy.
As we saw above, Abram was willing to stand up to the superpower of his day to
save his nephew Lot from a dire fate. He was neither intimidated into passivity
nor fearful of the consequences. When it came to protecting his family, all
other considerations fell by the wayside. Let us hope and pray that the Israeli
government will show a similar level of concern for the welfare of its citizens
and not hesitate to do what is necessary in Judea and Samaria and Gaza to
finally put an end to the threat posed by Palestinian terror.
Michael Freund served as Deputy Director of
Communications and Policy Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office from 1996 to
1999. He is currently an editorial writer and syndicated columnist for the
Jerusalem Post. Comments/Feedback/Subscribe: parsha_sheet@hotmail.com
